A decade ago, AIMS was among the first voices in the Atlantic region to sound the alarm with regard to shifting demographic patterns and a looming labour shortage. In Crunch Time: Population change will challenge Atlantic Canada’s future, based on a presentation given at a recent meeting of RCMP officers from throughout Atlantic Canada, Ian Munro, AIMS Director of Research, reviews changing population trends around the globe and within our region specifically.

Current projections show the region’s population growth as stagnant, or even negative, in the coming decades, which has significant implications for our labour markets, industrial capacity, and public services. Related issues such as immigration, education and worker productivity, and family structures are also examined in this Commentary.